Invalid and operating bed.



' PATENTBD JAN. 31, 1905.

B. B. BROWN.

7 INVALID AND OPERATING BED.

API LIQA-TION FILED JAN. 18, 1903.

2BHEBT8-SHEET 1.

. I TATENTEDIJAN. 31,1905. I E B. BROWN. INVALID AND OPERATING BED.

- APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1903.

' z sums-sum 2.

Patented January 31, 1905. l

1 PATENT- OFFICE.

EGBERT B. BROWN, OF MAYWOOD, ILLINOIS.

INVALID AND OPERATING BED.

:EECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 781,328, dated January 31, 1905. Application filed January 16, 1903. Serial No. 139,276. i

To all whom it may cor warn.-

Beit known that I, EGBERT B. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Maywood, in the county of Cook, in the State of,

Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Invalid and Operating Beds, of which the following is a specification.

- This invention relates to improvements in beds intended for hospitals and sick-rooms and designed with various adjustments, comforts, and conveniences which are particularly useful in such situations.

The invention contemplates the use normally, though not necessarily, of a woveninclination in either direction as desired.

The invention also contemplates that the bed shall be provided with means for easily raising and lowering the mattress or either of its ends and looking it in place in the desired position of adjustment; also, that the bed shall be provided with various attachall of which tend to greatly increase the comfort of the person occupying the bed.

All of these improvements, together with various details of construction, I have fully set forth in the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of an invalid and operating bed constructed in ac-, cordance with my improvements. a top plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is an end elevation thereof. Fig. 4 is asectional detail taken on line 4 of Fig. 2.- Fig. 5 is a detail of one of the guide-rod-supporting clamps. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the bed with the R of the frame.

' table in place. Fig. 7 is a similar view of the bed with the foot-piece in place and with the mattress raised to an inclined position. Fig.

8is a perspective detail of the foot-piece' Fig. 9 is a perspective detail of the overhead supporting frame. detail of the table for the bed.

Fig. 10 is aperspective The frame of my improved bed thus illustrated may be constructed like that of any ordinary metal bed and is herein shown as comprising a head-piece H and a foot-piece F,

connected by angle-iron side rails B. These shown this mattress is of that familiar con- Preferably and as herein struction comprising side rails m and end portions of which embrace the guide-rods R,

while their shank portions 2' extend through the corner-posts and are adjustably secured thereto by nuts z".

The mattress is resiliently supported upon the guide-rods R by coiled springs S, provided on the lower ends of the rods. Looselyfitting collars or rings 1' rest upon these springs and in turn support the corner-pieces m of the mattress, the apertures m of which are made only wide enough to freely embrace the guide-rods and too narrow to slip down over the collars. These apertures m are, however, made considerably larger than the diameter of the guidebars, so that they can be tipped at an angle thereto, and thus the mattress may.

not only be raised horizontally to the tops of the guide-rods to render the bed more convenient for surgical operations or otherwise,

but either end alone of the mattress may be raised to bring it into an inclined positionsuch as those shown, for example, in Figs. 1 and 7and to support the mattress in this raised position the collars 9 are provided with thumb -screws 1', by which they may be clamped tightly upon the guide-rods, so as to prevent the mattress from dropping until the screws are again loosened.

To enable the mattress to be lifted more convenientl y, cables L are shown as made fast at Z to the end bars 0 of the mattress and are extended thence upwardly and downwardly around pulleys Z, secured to the top and bottom Aof the head and foot pieces. The free ends of the cable are then made fast to hooks Z and serve when so fastened to hold the mattress in the desired position of adjustment. When either cable is loosened from the hooks, the mattress may be raised by pulling on the one end or may be lowered by pulling on the other end of the cable, as desired, its action being to lift the mattress off the springs or force it down upon and compress the springs, as the case may be.

The length of the mattress in my improved bed will be made great enough to accommodate the tallest of persons, and then to furnish a convenient rest for the feet of the occupant, whether tall or short, it is provided with an adjustable footboard F. (Better shown in detail in Fig. 9.) This footboard is provided with vertical telescopic standards f, having thumb-screws f, by which the board may be adjusted up and down, and the lower ends of these standards are furnished with foot-pieces, which are adapted to fit over and slide upon the side rails of the mattress and be clamped thereon. by thumb-screws f For the convenience of the occupant also an adjustable table T is furnished, this table consisting of a table-top t, pivotally supported at 25 upon vertical telescopic standards t, so that it can be swung to any desired angle, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6. Thumb-screws t on the telescopic standards enable the height of the table to be adjusted, while its position upon the bed can be varied by sliding the standards along upon the side rails B of the bed-frame, said standards being provided with feet t*, which fit upon these rails, and with thumb-screws t, by which they may be clamped upon the rails at any desired point in the length of the bed.

A further attachment of convenience is also herein shown in the form of an overhead supporting frame comprising adjustable teleseopic standards O, having feet 0 adapted to fit the side rails of the bed and be clamped thereto by set-screws 0'. These standards are joined at the top by a transverse supportingbar O, from which hand-rings H are suspended at the end of short ropes it. By grasping these rings the occupant of the bed may raise himself bodily, so as to turn or change his position without the assistance which would otherwise be necessary. A book it on the side of the support can also be used to suspend the water-bag of a fountain-syringe in case it becomes necessary to use the latter. It will be apparent that an invalid and operating bed constructed after the manner thus described will be in the highest degree convenient and satisfactory for use in hospitals and sickrooms. Owing to its springsu1 )port, the bed will be exceedingly comfortable for the patient when in use as an ordinary bed, while at any time the head or foot of the mattress may be raised, so as to support the patient in an inclined position, should he so prefer or should the necessities of his case demand it. For surgical operations and examinations the mattress can be raised to the height of an operating-table, and after the operation or examination is completed it can be lowered again to the usual bed-level without any shock or jar to the patient. The raising of the mattress can be accomplished by two or more attendants lifting it from each side or by a single attendant using the cable I, and in eithercase when raised to the desired position the bed can be locked securely in place by turning up the set-screws in the collars 1'. Under any circun'istances the footboard may be adjusted along the length of the mattress to any position required by the size or posture of the patient, and food, medicines, reading matter, and the like may be readily supplied to the patient by placing them upon the table T, which can be also adjusted to suit the occasion. For heavy patients also and in cases where sufiicient assistance is not always at hand the provision of the overhead supporting-frame, by which the patient may himself move or turn over when otherwise comparatively helpless, will be found of greatest convenience.

One particular advantage of the constructions herein shown and described is that an ordinary bed frame may be quickly fitted with the improvements shown without the aid of skilled labor or in the least n'iarring or changing the ordinary metal bedstead. The mattress-frame and its cooperating adjuncts may be kept in stock by dealers to be furnished private households when occasion requires, being substituted or used in lieu of the mattress sold with the bedstead.

It will be observed that by the construction shown and described the mattress-frame may be raised bodily to points above the headframe and pulled down against the action of the springs S to points below the bed-frame and locked at any point desired. By pulling the mattress-frame down below the side rails B of the bed-frame said side rails serve as guard-rails to keep the patient from falling oil the mattress, and by providing means whereby the mattress-frame may be lowered to or nearly to the floor the danger of the patient tossing off the mattress and injuring himself by falling to the floor is entirely avoided,

or stretcher on the floor adjacent to the bed.

I claim as my invention 1. In a bed of the classdescribed, the combination of a bed-frame, vertical guide-rods within the corners of the frame and extending above and .below the rails of the bed-frame, a mattress-frame provided with apertured corner pieces engaging and movable on said guide-rods, springs on the guide-rods beneath the corner-pieces to resiliently support the mattress-frame, and means for elevating the mattress frame and also pulling it down against the action of its springs and for lockingit in its adjusted positions.

2. An invalid and operating bed comprising a bed-frame, vertical guide-rods Within the corners of the frame, said guide-rods being detachably attached to the corner-posts of the bed-frame, a mattress-frame provided with apertured corner-pleccs fittlng over and movable on said guide-rods, the apertures in said corner-pieces being long enough to permit the mattress-frame to be tipped into an in.- clined position, springs on the rods below the mattress-frame for resiliently supporting the" same, and means carried by the bed-frame for independently raising and pulling down the opposite ends of the mattress-frame and looking them in their adjusted positions.

8. In a bed of the class described, the com bination of a bed-frame, vertical guide-rods within the corners of the frame and extending above and below the rails thereof, a mattressframe having apertured corner-pieces engaging said guide-rods, said apertures being long enough to permit the mattress to-be tipped into an inclined position, springs on the rods beneath the mattress-frame for resiliently supporting the mattress, pulleys Z on the bedframe above and below the side rails thereof,

a pair of cords L attached to each end of the mattress-frame and one being carried up over the upper pulley and the other downward under the lower pulley and the free ends of'the 'cords being adapted to be attached to the bedframe to lock the mattress in its adjusted positions, the upper cord serving to lift the mat tress-frame and the lower cord serving to pull it down against the action of the supporting-springs, substantially as described.

4. Aninvalid and operating bed comprising a frame, vertical guide-rods within the corners of the frame, and extending above and below said frame, a mattress-frame provided with apertured corner-pieces fitting over and movable onsaid guide-rods, and springs provided on said guide-rods beneath the cornerpieces to resiliently support the mattress, substantially as described.

5. 'An invalid and operating'bed comprising a frame vertical guide-rods within the corners of the frame and extending above and below said frame, a mattress-frame provided with apertured corner-pieces fitting over and movable on said guide-rods, springs on said guiderods beneath the corner-pieces, and movable collars on said guide-rods between said springs and corner-pieces, substantially as described.

6. An invalid and operating bed comprising a frame, vertical guide-rods within the corners, of the frame and extending above and below said frame, a mattress-frame provided with apertured corner-pieces fitting over and movable on said guide-rods, springs on said guide-rods beneath the corner-pieces, movable collars on said guide-rods between said springs and corner-pieces, and means for clamping said collars in adjusted position upon the \guide-rods, substantially as described.

7. An invalid and operating bed comprising a frame, verticalguiderods Within the corners of the frame, a mattress-frame provided with apertured corner-pieces fitting over and.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aflix my signature, in pres ence of two subscribing witnesses, this 7th day of January, A. D. 1903.

E. B. BROWN.

a Witnesses:

THEODORE H. LORD, WM. S. WooDHULL. 

